Casing closure

ABSTRACT

The term &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;food casing,&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; as employed throughout this application and in the appended claims, is intended to include, but not be restrictive of, those tubular food casings fabricated from such materials as collagen, cellulose, regenerated cellulose, cellulose having fibers embedded therein, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinylidene chloride, and the like. These food casings are also known by those skilled in the art as &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;sausage casings&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; and are generally employed as containers or molds into which is stuffed or encased a food item, such as raw meat emulsions, meat chunks, discrete meat cuts and the like. These encased food items can then be frozen or, if desired, processed, as by cooking and curing, and items such as salami and bologna sausages, spiced meat loaves, ham loaves, hams, and the like can be obtained.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Vytautas Kupcikevicius Chicago, Ill.[211 App]. No. 862,120 122] Filed Aug 4. 1969 Division of Ser'. No.575,462, Aug. 26, 1966, Pat. No. 3,483,801. [45] Patented Apr. 20, 1971[73] Assignee Union Corporation [54] CASING CLOSURE 2 Claims, 36 DrawingFigs. [52] US. Cl....; 229/54, 229/62, 206/65, 99/ 176 [5 1] Int. Cl.B65d 33/00, I B65d 33/14 [50] Field of Search 229/54, 62, 63, 65, 66,52; 150/1 1, 12; 17/34; 206/65,46 (F);

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,307,181 1/1943 Young229/65 3,064,803 11/1962 Eichin etal 3,401,042 9/ 1968 Frederick et alABSTRACT: The term food casing," as employed throughout this applicationand in the appended claims, is intended to include, but not berestrictive of, those tubular food casings fabricated from suchmaterials as collagen, cellulose, regenerated cellulose, cellulosehaving fibers embedded therein, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene,polyethylene, polyvinylidene chloride, and the like. These food casingsare also known by those skilled in the art as sausage casings and aregenerally employed as containers or molds into which is stufi'ed orencased a food item, such as raw meat emulsions, meat chunks, discretemeat cuts and the like. These encased food items can then be frozen or,if desired, processed, as by cooking and curing, and items such assalami and bologna sausages, spiced meat loaves, ham loaves, hams, andthe like can be obtained.

Patented April20, 1971 V 3,575,339

12 Sheets-Sheet 1 STAT/ON CASING AND HANGER LOOP FEED STAT/ON CASING PLE A TING OPERATION ATTORNEY INVENTOR VVTAUTAS KUPC/Z VIC/US PatentedApril 20, 1971 3,575,339

12 Sheets-Sheet 5 FlG.3c.

INVENTOR w TA ms KUPC/KEV/C/US ATTORNEY Patented A ril 20, 1971 12Sheets-Sheet 4- FIG.6.

INVENTOR V Y TAU TAS KUPC/KEV/C/US ATTORNEY Patented A ril 20, 19713,515,339

12 Sheets-Sheet ,5

. INVENTOR V V T AU 7' AS KUPC/KEV/C/US W'IEMIIIIA 52 ATTORNEY PatentedApril 20,1971 3,575,339

12 Sheets-Sheet 6 lie ATTORNEY INVENTOR VVTAUTAS KUPC/KEV/C/US YPatented A ril 20, 1971 3,575,339

1 2 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR VVTAUTAS KUPC/KEI/ C/US Patented April 20,1971 I 3,575,339

12 Sheets-Sheet 9 i FIG. l3b.

Patented April 20, 1971 12 Sheets-Sheet 12 INVENTOR VVT'AUTASKUPC/KEV/C/US %TTORNEY CASING CLOSURE This is a division of applicationSer. No. 575,462, filed Aug. 26, 1966, now US. Pat. No. 3,483,801.

The present invention relates to a closed food casing.

Food casings are usually stuffed with such food items by the use ofmechanical equipment. A first end of the food casing is closed and theopen or second end is placed over a horn or outlet means from which thefood item is ejected under pressure until the food casing is stuffed.The closed end of the food casing must, therefore, be strong enough towithstand the stuffing pressure and also be sufficiently secured so thatno food will escape therefrom during stuffing. The second end of thethusly stuffed food casing is then closed and the encased food productfurther processed'in conventional apparatus,

such as cooking ovens, smoke houses and the like, where the stuffed foodproduct is cooked and cured and then stored until ready for use orfurther processing. In general, one end closure of the casing isprovided with a looped hanger, such as stout twine, to suspend thestuffed food casing thereby during the processing and storage period.The looped hanger is usually made as an integral part of the first endcasing closure.

In present manufacturing methods, these lengths of cured and cooked foodproducts, which can be over feet in length and weigh more than 40pounds, are then cut transversely into slices of equal thickness andweight, either before or after removing the food casing therefrom, andare then packaged and sold through retail outlets in todays commercialmarket places.

In accordance with conventional practice, the first end closure is madeon the flattened food casing when they are dry. These food casings arethen soaked in water before being stuffed in order to render them morepliable during stuffing. The methods presently employed to close one endof a food casing and provide a hanger loop therefor include the use ofstring, twine, cupclips and the like as is disclosed in US. Pat. No.2,462,957, US. Pat. No. 2,697,970 and US. Pat. No. 3,010,621. During thesoaking of those food casings provided with loops of string or twine,the loops often become knotted and tangled and must be manuallyunraveled before the casing is stuffed or, in any event, before thestuffed food casing is suspended for subsequent processing, curing andcooking.

Since industry is now tending to demand longer and heavier encased foodproducts, attachment of a suitable suspension means to these foodcasings is becoming increasingly more important. Obviously, suspensionmeans which tend to damage the casing wall so that the casing breaks orsuspension means which break or become separated from the encased foodproducts during handling and processing results in waste.

Pleating apparatus have also been devised and employed to pleat one endof a food casing preparatory to making and forming a closure in thepleated end, such as apparatus described in US. Pat. No. 2,708,059, US.Pat. No. 2,697,970, US. Pat. No. 3,224,083, and US. Pat. No. 2,589,792.While such apparatus have proven to be operable, they tend to damage thecasing wall and are, generally, complex and cumbersome in theiroperation and also involve many manual operations.

It is an object of the present invention therefore to provide a pleatedfood casing with a suspension means capable of supporting an encasedfood product for extended periods of time during subsequent processing,cooking and curing and which suspension means provides easier manualhandling of the processed product.

These and further objects of the present invention will become apparentwhen considered in light of the ensuing discussion.

The objects of the present invention can be accomplished by providing anapparatus which generally comprises means for automatically andcontinuously supplying individual flattened, tubular food casings from asource of supply; means for automatically pleating one end of said foodcasings; and means for automatically closing the thusly pleated end ofsaid food casing.

The apparatus can also be adapted to include means for automaticallysupplying a length of suitable material to form a hanger loop; means forforming a hanger loop; means for positioning the hanger loop adjacentthe pleated casing end; means for forming a closure clip; and means foraffixing the closure clip about the pleated casing end and about thehanger loop positioned adjacent thereto.

The invention will be more clearly understood when considered togetherwith the accompanying drawing which is set forth by way of illustrationthereof and is not intended, in any way, to be limitative thereof andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of theapparatus for producing the closed food casing of the present inventionillustrating the component elements and major operating stations of theapparatus;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of Stations 1, II, and IIIillustrating the feed and supply means to supply and feed the easingsand the material and means used to form the hanger loop;

FIGS. 3a-3d are enlarged side elevational views, partly in section, of aportion of the casing supply and feed means illustrating the sequence ofoperation of feeding the casings from the supply table to the pleatingmeans;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view, partly in section, of a portion of the feedmeans shown in FIGS. Ila-3d;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3d showing aportion of the pleating means at Station II and the casing positionedtherein;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7a-7e are sectional views, taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 5 andillustrating the sequence of operation of the pleating means at StationII;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the hanger loop forming means;

FIGS. -90 are side elevational views partly in section illustrating thesequence of operation of the hanger loop forming means at Station III;

FIG. 10a is an end elevational schematic view, partly in section, takenalong line 10-10 of FIG. 1] illustrating the hanger loop transfer means;

FIGS. 10b and are end elevational schematic views, partly in section,taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 11 and showing, partly in phantom, thesequence of operation of the hanger loop transfer means;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational schematic view of the hanger loop transfermeans employed to transfer the formed hanger loop from Station III intoposition adjacent the pleated end of the casing at Station II;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view, partly in section, illustrating the positionof pleating components in the pleated end of the casmg;

FIG. l3a-13c are side elevational views, illustrating the casingtransfer means employed to transfer the pleated casing end and hangerloop from Station II to Station IV;

FIG. 14a is an end elevational view, partly in section, taken along line14a-14a of FIG. 13a illustrating the casing transfer means positioned atStation II;

FIG. 14b is an end elevational view, partly in section, taken along line14b-I4b of FIG. 13c illustrating the casing transfer means positioned atStation 1V;

FIGS. l5a-15f are enlarged sections taken along line 15-15 of FIG. 13c,illustrating the sequence of operation of the clip closure means atStation IV;

FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view illustrating one embodiment of adrive means which can be employed with the apparatus used in the presentinvention; and

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a portion of a casing with one endclosed by the closure means of this invention.

Turning now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals denote likeparts, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 one embodiment of the apparatussuitable for use in the present invention in which reference numeral 20denotes a supply reel from which is unwound an inventory of material 22suitable for forming a hanger loop, and which is automatically andcontinuously supplied to a hanger loop forming means, generallydesignated by reference numeral 80, at Station 111.

A flattened, tubular, food casing 25, both ends of which are open andwhich has been cut across the flattened width thereof, is supplied froman inventory of food casings stacked on a supply table 23. The tubular,flattened food casing 25 is fed to the pleating means, generallydesignated by reference numeral 50, at Station Il.

At Station II, the food casing 25 is pleated while, at Station III, ahanger loop 24 is formed and is then transferred to and positionedadjacent the pleated casing end 26. The tltusly positioned hanger loop24 and the pleated casing end 26 are clamped firmly together by clampingjaws 102.

Once clamped together, the pleated casing and hanger loop aretransferred to and indexed at Station [V where a wire clip closure isapplied. During transit, the free end of the casing 25 is supported by asplit connecting work surface 48. At Station IV, an inventory of clipwire 165 is fed from a supply reel 164 to a clip fon'ning means,generally designated by reference numeral 150, which forms and flnnlyfastens a clip about both the pleated casing end 26 and the hanger loop24. The end closure of the casing is now completed and the casing isautomatically removed from the apparatus by rotating clamps 170.

STATION I-APPARATUS In FIG. 2, there is shown the supply reel from whichis drawn an inventory of hanger loop material 22. The hanger loopmaterial 22 is trained about guide rolls 21a and 21b and is continuouslyand automatically fed to the hanger loop forming means 80. Meanwhile, anindividual, flattened, tubular food casing is being automatically fedfrom a stack of food casings on the supply table 23 to the pleatingmeans 50. The supply table 23 is affixed horizontally to the inboardflights of roller chains 239a, 23% (FIGS. 1 and 16) which are verticallyintermittently driven by oounterrotating shafts 2320, 232(- energizedand controlled by drive means later described. Table 23 is stabilized inframe 28 by guide rollers 37. Supply table 23 supports a stack ofcasings 25 and is moved vertically upward by the drive means to apredetermined casing pickup level to pennit an individual casing 25 tobe lifted from the top of the stack and fed to the pleating means 50.The pickup level is controlled by photoelectric eye 30 (FIG. 2) trainedacross the top of the stack, which automatically arrests the verticalmovement of the table when the stack intercepts the light beam.

Vacuum cups 32 (FIGS. 2, 3a and 16) are secured to mounting bar 246a andare connected by a flexible hose 32a to a source of vacuum (not shown)to pick up the uppermost casing 25 from the stack of casings. Themounting bar 2460 is rotatably mounted on crank arms 246 (FIG. 16) andis adapted for movement of the vacuum cups from a pressing engagementwith the stack of casings to the casing feed discharge position. Ascrank arms 246 pivot about shaft 244, vacuum cups 32 lift the leadingedge of casing 25 from the stack and advance it toward a yoke mechanismgenerally designated by reference numeral 33. The yoke mechanism 33,(FIGS. 3a3d and 4) comprises a trailing upper feed roll 34 and a leadingupper feed roll 36 which are rotatably mounted in tandem at the ends ofa pair of connecting bars 38. Connecting bars 38 are, in turn, pivotallymounted to the frame of the apparatus 28 by means of a pivot shaft 40.Oscillation of the yoke mechanism 33 is accomplished by means of aircylinder 42 connected centrally to one end of yoke operating bar 38a.The other end of operating bar 380 is secured to pivot shaft 40.

A rotatably mounted lower feed roll is positioned below trailing upperfeed roll 34 so that it cooperates with trailing upper feed roll 34 whentrailing upper feed roll 34 is oscillated downwardly. Lower feed roll 35is driven to rotate in a clockwise direction and its uppercircumferential surface is tangentially aligned with the upper surfaceof pleating platen 44. Pleating platen 44 provides the surface overwhich an individual food casing 25 is transferred from the supply table23 to the pleating means 50 at Station II. Advancement of the leadingedge of an individual food casing 25 across the pleating platen 44 tothe pleating means 50 is arrested by means later described andcontrolled by means of photoelectric eye 31. In this manner, anindividual food casing 25 is supplied to and positioned in the pleatingmeans 50.

It should be understood that the terms leading edge" or leading end, asemployed throughout this application and in the appended claims, areintended to indicate that portion of the apparatus or article farthestaway from the supply table 23 while the terms trailing edge" or trailingend" are similarly intended to indicate that portion of the apparatus orarticle nearest the supply table 23.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, lower feed roll 35is joumaled in machine frame 28 (FIG. 4) and upper feed roll 34 isjoumaled in yoke connecting bars 38 adjacent their trailing ends.Connecting bars 38 are secured to pivot shaft 40 pivotally mounted inmachine frame 28. Rolls 34, 35 are provided with mating ridges 46 spacedapart by grooves 45. When rolls 34, 35 are engaged in pressingrelationship, ridges 46 firmly secure and align the casing as it isadvanced from the supply table 23 to the pleating means 50. The ridges46 of roll 34 are preferably coated with a material having a highcoefficient of friction, such as rubber. Grooves provide a degree offreedom for the two plies of the flattened casing intermediate the rollridges, thereby preventing wrinkling and lengthwise misalignment of thecasing.

Grooves 45 in roll 35 cooperate with curved fingers 43 formed as anextension of the trailing edge of pleating platen 44, to strip theleading edge of casing 25 from roll 35 and prevent casing 25 fromslipping beneath the surface of platen 44 as the casing is fed to thepleating means 50. Advance of the food casing 25 from the nip betweenfeed rolls 34, 35 to the pleating means can thereby be accomplished withregularity and accuracy.

As is described in more detail hereinbelow, leading upper feed roll 36acts as a brake when the casing is arrested in its fonvard motion andalso acts as securing means for the casing 25 when it is being pleated.Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 4)leading upper feed roll 36 is comprised of a plurality of individual,flat-face, bushed pulleys 39 rotatably mounted on shouldered shaft 41fixedly secured to connecting bars 38. Pulleys 39 are spaced apart bythe bushing portion thereof at a spacing similar to the spacing ofridges 46 on rolls 34, 35. The faces of pulleys 39 are also preferablycoated with a friction material such as rubber to brake the casing to ahalt at a predetennined position in pleating means 50. A slight brakingforce is imposed on the pulleys 39 which force is controlled by clampingthe pulley bushing interfaces along shaft 41 intermediate the sidesurfaces of operating bar 38a and setscrew collars 47.

STATION II-APPARATUS As shown in FIGS. 3d, 5, 6 and 7a, the pleatingmeans 50 comprises a lower forming assembly generally designatedbyreference numeral 52, and an upper pleating assembly generallydesignated by reference numeral 62.

The lower forming assembly 52 comprises horizontally disposed platemember 54 having a plurality of forming members 56 extending verticallyfrom the upper surface thereof. Pleating platen 44 is horizontallysecured to machine frame 28 and extends from trailing edge fingers 43 toits leading end at pleating means 50. The leading end of platen 44 has aplurality of spaced-apart slots 60 defined therein to accommodate thevertical movement of forming members 56 therethrough. The upperhorizontal surface of platen 44 is preferably coated with or fabricatedfrom a material having a low coefficient of friction and should be ofsufficient hardness or durability to resist wear.

The upper pleating assembly 62 comprises a movable U- shaped platemember 64, having vertically disposed side sections 65 dependingdownwardly therefrom. Plunger rod 66 is slideably mounted in bushed hole68 central of the horizontally disposed portion of plate member 64. Thelower end of rod 66 is secured to center pleating blade 76. Compressionspring 70 is slideably mounted on rod 66 and is constrained betweenblade 76 and the bottom side of plate 64. Plunger rod 66 and compressionspring 70 are secured in assembly with plate member 64 by flanged head67.

Extending inwardly from the side sections 65 are a plurality ofhorizontally disposed support members 72. The support members 72 arerespectively secured to a plurality of horizon tally disposed rods 74which, in turn, are slideably mounted through side sections 65 of platemember 64 (FIG. 7a).

Center pleating blade 76 vertically depends from the lower extremity ofrod 66. Vertically depending from the support members 72 are a pluralityof pairs of side pleating blades 77 and 78 which are disposed parallelto and on each side of center pleating blade 76. Center pleating blade76 is vertically longer than side pleating blades 77 and 78 (FIG. 7a).Side pleating blades 77 are horizontally shorter than and positionedback from the leading and trailing edges of center pleating blade 76while side pleating blades 78 are horizontally shorter than andpositioned back from the leading and trailing edges of side pleatingblades 77 (FIGS. 5, 6 and 12).

The leading and trailing edges of all the pleating blades 76, 7'7, 78are preferably rounded in order to minimize damage to the casing.

The lower horizontal edges of all the pleating blades, which come intocontact with the flattened food casing 25, are preferably coated with acomposition which has a high coefficient of friction, such as rubber, inorder to insure a firm coaction between them and the end of the casingto be pleated as will become apparent hereinafter.

Although the apparatus depicted in the drawing illustrates a pleatingmeans having only two pairs of side pleating blades, it should beunderstood that this embodiment is not intended as a limitation. Alesser or greater number of side pleating blades can be employed asdesired or required, depending primarily upon the width of the flattenedfood casing to be pleated. The greater the flat width of the foodcasing, the greater will be the number of side pleating blades desiredor required, while in food casings having smaller flat widths, theconverse will prevail.

STATION III-APPARATUS Illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9a9c is the hanger loopforming means 80 which comprises a pair of pinch rolls 82 which feed thehanger loop material 22 to the hanger loop forming means 80. The pinchrolls 82 are controlled by a timer (not shown) so that a predeterminedlength of hanger loop material 22 is intermittently fed to the hangerloop forming means 80. The pinch rolls 82 also act to guide the hangerloop material 22 over an anvil 84 which has a recessed center and anextension 84a at its leading end. The anvil 84 is, in turn, mounted onbase 85 which is secured to machine frame 28. Anvil 84 acts as a supportwhen the material 22 is severed by a severing means 86. The pinch rolls82 advance the hanger material 22 so that the free end thereof is firsttrained horizontally into the space intermediate a looping pin 92 and afon'ning clamp 88 in its retracted position as shown in FIG. 9a. Loopingpin 92 is fixedly secured to bracket 93 which, in turn, is fastened tomachine frame 28. Forming clamp 88 is comprised of two pairs of V-shapedprongs 89, 89a, extending from a common base block 87. Block 87 issecured to the outboard end of lever arm 90, whose inboard end issecured to clamp pivot shaft 91 rotatably trunnioned in frame 28. Whenclamp 88 is rotated from its retracted position to its clampingposition, as shown in FIG. 9b, by conventional rotary air cylinder means(not shown), the length of hanger loop material 22 is nested in theV-shaped prongs 89, 89a to form a bight in the hanger loop materialabout looping pin 92, and then prong 89 clamps the two plies of hangerloop material 22 against anvil extension 84a.

Since, in a preferred embodiment the hanger loop material 22 is selectedfrom conventional heat-meltable materials described hereinbelow, thesevering means 86 is comprised of a V-shaped knife element 83 heated bya suitable thermostatcontrolled electrical current. Knife 83 is securedto lever arm 81 pivotally mounted on machine frame 28 and is advancedand retracted from the anvil 84 to sever the material 22 in a controlledtime-and-temperature operation.

Referring now to FIGS. I0a-I0c and II, there is shown a hanger looptransfer means, generally designated by reference numeral 94, equippedwith a pair of gripping jaws 96 which are pivotally mounted on a swingplate 98. Gripping jaws are actuated by an air cylinder and linkage (notshown) to grip the plies of the hanger loop 24 intermediate prongs 89,89a (FIG. 90). Swing plate 98 is trunnioned on cross carriage which isreciprocated on guideways 97 by securing it to the piston rod of aircylinder 99 mounted on machine frame 28. Swing plate 98 is provided witha geneva motion and gear (not shown) mounted on cross carriage 95, thegear meshing with a gear rack (not shown) affixed to frame 28. As crosscarriage 95 is advanced to the hanger loop forming means 80, thegripping jaws 96 first grip the hanger loop 24 intermediate prongs 89,89a (FIGS. 90 and H011). Then the cross carriage 95 retracts to firststrip the formed hanger loop 24 from pin 92 (FIG. 10b). Subsequently, bymeans of the geneva motion, swing plate 98 rotates as carriage 95traverses the clamping means from the hanger loop forming means 80 tothe pleating means 50 (FIG. 100). In this manner, the hanger loop 24 istransferred from the hanger loop forming means 80 and positionedadjacent the pleated end 26 of the casing 25 (FIGS. I00 and II).

CASING TRANSFER MECHANISM-APPARATUS A casing transfer carriage mechanismis employed to transfer the casing 25 by its pleated casing end 26together with the hanger loop 24 from the pleating means at Station IIto the clip-forming means 150 at Station I Referring now to FIGS. 13a13cand FIGS. 14a and 14b, there is illustrated a casing transfer carriagemechanism comprising a vertically disposed carriage member 100 on theupper portion of which is rotatably mounted a pair of clamping jaws I02.The clamping jaws 102 firmly clamp the hanger loop 24 to the pleatedcasing end 26 after the hanger loop 24 has been positioned adjacent thepleated casing end 26 by the clamping means 94 (FIGS. 10c and 11). Theclamping jaws 102 are interconnected to a pair of meshing gears I04(FIGS. 14a and 14b) one of which is mounted to one end of a crank arm106. The other end of crank arm 106 is pivotally mounted to an aircylinder I08. Actuation of air cylinder 108, acting through crank arm106 and gears 104, causes the clamping jaws 102 to rotate toward or awayfrom each other.

Carriage member I00 is reciprocally mounted in the apparatus by means ofa pair of grooved guide rollers I10 mounted at each end of the carriagemember 100 (FIGS. 13al3c). Guide rollers 110 are, in turn, mounted tomate with cooperating guide bars 112 fastened to frame 28. An endlessroller chain 1114 is trained about two pairs of sprockets I16 and 118.Sprockets 116 are rotatably mounted to the frame of the apparatus 28adjacent the pleating means 50 at Station II and are vertically disposedwith respect to each other. Sprockets 1118 are similarly rotatablymounted adjacent the clip closure means 150 at Station IV. A camfollower 120 is secured to endless chain 114 so as to traverse invertical guideway 122 which is fixedly secured to carriage member 100.

A dual air manifold block 124 having upper manifold I26 and lowermanifold 128 is vertically mounted to carriage member I00 and is alignedwith the direction of travel of the carriage member ll00 (FIGS. 14a and14b). Upper and lower manifolds. I26 and 128, are each equipped with afemale section of an airhose coupling containing a check valve. Anairhose I30 connects upper manifold 126, through its port 127, to therod end of air cylinder I08 while airhose 132 connects lower manifold128, through its port 129, to the piston end of air cylinder 108.

A first manifold block 134 (FIG. 13a) is vertically mounted to theapparatus frame 28 adjacent the pleating means 50 at Station 11. Maleairhose coupling sections 135 and 136 equipped with check valves areaffixed to manifold block 134 and aligned to cooperate with the femalecoupling sections in the upper and lower manifolds 126 and 128,respectively, of dual air manifold 124.

A second manifold block 138 (FlG. 13c) is similarly vertically mountedto the apparatus frame 28 adjacent the clip closure means 150 at Station1V and has afiixed thereto male airhose coupling sections 139 and 140,also equipped with check valves, which are aligned to cooperate withfemale coupling sections in manifolds 126 and 128, respectively, of dualair manifold 124.

Stated in another way, female hose-coupling section in upper manifold126 of dual air manifold block 124 is aligned to engage malehose-coupling sections 135 and 139 of manifold blocks 134 and 138,respectively, while female hosecoupling section in lower manifold 128 isaligned to engage male hose-coupling sections 136 and 140 of manifoldblocks 134 and 138, respectively.

By means of this mechanism, the pleated casing end 26 together with thehanger loop 24 positioned adjacent thereto are gripped at Station I1 andthen transferred to the clip-forming means 150 at Station lV beforesubsequently being released from the gripping means after the closure ismade.

STATION lV-APPARATUS The pleated casing end 26 together with the hangerloop 24 are indexed at the clip closure-forming means 150 of Station lV.As shown in H6. a, the clip closure-forming means 150 comprises a clipdie 152 fabricated in the form of a solid, rectangular bar havingrounded comers at one side. Directly opposite the rounded comers of theclip die 152 there is positioned a movable clip die 154. The ends ofmovable clip die 154, which are adjacent to and directly opposite therounded corners of clip die 152, are each machined at an angle whichextends inwardly toward the body of movable clip die 154 defining ahorizontal V-groove. Extending along the entire longitudinal axis ofmovable clip die 154 is a guideway 155 (FlGS. lSe and 15d) in which aclip ram 156 is slideably mounted. The comers at one end of clip ramsection 156 are also rounded and are positioned directly opposite therounded comers of clip die 152 and adjacent the angled ends of movableclip die 154. A clip wire guide 158, fabricated from a solid rectangularbar having a borehole 159, is positioned adjacent the apex of one angledend of movable clip die 154 so that the edge of the borehole 159 isaligned with the comer of the angled end of movable clip die 154adjacent thereto. As shown in FIG. 150, a pair of pinch rolls 168 arealigned with borehole 159 of clip wire guide 158 and are adapted to feedthe clip wire 165 from a supply reel 164 (FIG. 1) to be positionedadjacent the clip die 152. The pinch rolls 168 are controlled by a timer(not shown) so that a predetermined length of clip wire 165 isintermittently fed through borehole 159 and past the rounded comers ofclip die 152. Adjacent the other angled end of movable clip die 154there is positioned a wire stop plate 157 which arrests the advance ofclip wire 165 as it is guided through borehole 159 and positionedadjacent the rounded comers of clip die 152.

On the other side of clip die 152, there is positioned a clipclosing die160. The face of clip-closing die 160 nearest clip die 152 is angled ateach side end thereof to mate with the inside surfaces; that is, thehorizontally disposed V-groove, of the angled ends of movable clip die154. The face of the clip closing die 160, between its angled side ends,is machined in the form of a slot 161 in order to receive a wire clipsection 166 (FIG. 15e) severed from the clip wire 165. As can be seen inFIG. 15a the rear wall of the slot 161 is machined to have a concaverear wall and sidewalls extending at an angle outwardly therefrom to theface of the clip-closing die 160.

APPARATUS DRIVE MECHANISM Referring now to H6. 16, there is illustratedone embodiment of a drive mechanism that-can be employed to energize theapparatus used in the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 16, a main drive motor 200 has mounted to its shaft 201an electrical clutch 204 and an electrical brake 206. The output end ofshaft 201 is connected to a first speed reducer 202 by means of anendless chain and sprocket drive 208. The through shaft 203 of speedreducer 202 is connected to a speed reducer 210 equipped with outputshaft 211. At the other end of output shaft 211 there is rotatablymounted a crank 212 which is connected to the stacking means and whichactivates rotating clamps 170 (FIG. 1) through pin 215, rotatablymounted link arm 216, shaft 217, right-angle speed increaser 218 androtating shaft 219 to which rotating clamps 170 (P10. 1) are mounted.

At the other end of second speed reducer 210, through shaft 203 connectssecond speed reducer 210 in tandem with third speed reducer 220.

At the other side of second speed reducer 210, shaft 221 connects secondspeed reducer 210 with right-angle drive 223. Right-angle drive 223 is,in turn, connected to a control box 224 through shaft 225. Control box224 contains a plurality of electrical switches operated by rotatingcams (not shown) mounted on a common shaft which is driven by shaft 225,so that various operations and functions of the apparatus aresynchronized and controlled as is described in more detail hereinbelow.

A main camshaft 226 is mounted to third speed reducer 220. One end of afirst roller chain and sprocket drive 227 is mounted on main camshaft226 adjacent third speed reducer 220. The other end of chain andsprocket drive 227 is mounted to one end of clutch shaft 231 of electricclutch 230. At the other end of main camshaft 226 there is mounted oneend of a second chain and sprocket drive 229 whose other end is mountedto shaft 241 of cam 240. lntermediate chain and sprocket drives 227 and229 mounted on main camshaft 226, are a plurality of cams 228 whichmechanically actuate the vertical motions of the pleating means 50.

As described above, the other end of chain and sprocket drive 227 ismounted to one end of clutch shaft 231 of clutch 230. At the other endof clutch shaft 231 an endless chain and sprocket drive 233 is mountedto connect clutch 230 with a fourth speed reducer 234 through shaft 235.Mounted on the end of shaft 235 is one-way clutch 196 which in turn,mounts handcrank 198. The handcrank 198 and clutch 196 are employed tomanually lower casing supply table 23. Fourth speed reducer 234 isprovided with a shaft 236 which is connected to one end of shaft 232a bymeans of endless chain and sprocket drive 237.

Fourth speed reducer 234 is also connected to shaft 2320 by means ofchain and sprocket drive 238 and shaft 247. Chain and sprocket drives239a connect shafts 232a and 232b to each other while chain and sprocketdrives 23% connect shafts 232c and 232d to each other. Shaft 236 isdriven in a counterclockwise direction while shaft 247 is driven in aclockwise direction so that chain and sprocket drives 239a and 23% aredriven in the direction shown by the arrows. Through this mechanism,supply table 23 is energized and controlled in its intermittentvertically upward movement.

Referring again to endless chain and sprocket drive 229, it was pointedout above that one end was mounted to one end of main camshaft 226 whilethe other end was mounted to shaft 241 of cam 240. Cooperating with cam240 is a cam follower 243 which is in constant contact with theperimeter of cam 240.

Cam follower 243 is connected to one end of shaft 244 by link 242.Mounted on shaft 244 are a pair of crank arms 246 which rotatablysupport mounting bar 246a to which vacuum cups 32 are mounted. A tensionspring 245 is connected to link 242 intermediate its ends and acts tomaintain cam follower 243 in firm engagement with cam 240. A chain andsprocket drive 144 is arranged to maintain mounting bar 2460 inhorizontal alignment as it is rotated about shaft 244. The sprocket onthe inboard end of crank arm 246 is journaled on shaft 244 and thesprocket is fixed in position by bracket 146 secured to machine frame28. The sprocket on the outboard end of crank arm 246 is fixed to anextension of the shaft journaling mounting bar 246a in crank arms 246.

With reference again to third speed reducer 220, drive energy istransmitted therefrom by through shaft 203, right-angle drive 248,through shaft 249, right-angle drive 250, connecting shaft 251,right-angle drive 252 and connecting shaft 253 to drive lower feed roll35 continuously in a clockwise direction.

Right-angle drive 250 is also equipped with a connecting shaft 255 towhich is mounted an electrical clutch-brake 254. Electrical clutch-brake254, by means of connecting shafts 256, 257 and right-angle drive 258,is connected to the endless chain 114 and sprockets 116 and 118 whichcomprise the drive means of the casing transfer mechanism (FIGS. 14a and14b).

STATION l-OPERATION The operation of the apparatus at Station I can bemore readily understood when taken together with FIGS. 1, 2, 3d and 16of the drawing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a stack of cut, flattened, tubular foodcasings is positioned on the supply table 23 while the leading end ofhanger loop material 22 is trained over guide rolls 21a and 21b from thesupply reel and fed between the pinch rolls 82 of hanger loop formingmeans 80 while clip wire 165 is fed from the supply reel 164 throughwire pinch rolls 168 to be positioned in the clipping means 150. Themain drive motor 200 is then started energizing the drive components ofthe apparatus (FIG. 16).

Before startup, supply table 23 is lowered manually to accept the stackof food casings, by cranking handcrank 198 through one-way clutch 196 tothe input shaft 235 of the fourth speed reducer 234. At startup, supplytable 23 is urged upwardly by chain and sprocket drives 239a and 2391)(FIG.

16) until the top of the stack of casings 25 attains the pickup levelwhereupon the light beam of photoelectric eye is intercepted andcontrols to disconnect electric clutch 230. Speed reducer 234 is a wormgear reducer capable of being operated only by its input shaft 235 andthus when clutch 230 is inoperative, supply table 23 is locked ormaintained in feed pickup position. When the number of casings removedfrom the top of the stack falls below the pickup level, the light beamtrips the photoelectric control 30 and clutch 230 is reenergized therebymechanically reconnecting the machine drive from main camshaft 226through chain and sprocket linkages 227 and 233 to speed reducer 234,thereby raising the table to the pickup level, whereupon the casingstack again intercepts the light beam.

With reference to FIG. 16 vacuum cups 32 are raised and lowered once ineach cycle of apparatus operation by means of main camshaft 226 actingthrough chain and sprocket drive 229 to shaft 241 of cam 240 cooperatingwith cam follower 243 and link 242 connected to shaft 244 to whichlevers 246 are mounted. The levers 246 rotatably support mounting bar2460 to which the vacuum cups 32 are secured. When shaft 244 is rotatedby link 242, levers 246 are caused to move through an arc of about 90and, by coaction of roller chain and sprocket drive 144, mounting bar2460 and vacuum cups 32 are caused to move in parallel relationship tothe top surface of the stack of casings 25. Vacuum cups 32 thus lift theuppermost casing 25 and insert its leading edge between lower feed rolland trailing upper feed roll 34 (FIG. 3a). Lower feed roll 35 iscontinuously driven in a clockwise direction from the main drive motor200 acting essentially through speed reducers 202, 210 and 220,right-angle drives 248, 250 and 252 and shafts 203, 249, 251 and 253.

Referring now to FIGS. 3a-3d, the leading end of food casing 25 trips afeeler switch (not shown) as it is positioned between trailing upperfeed roll 34 and lower feed roll 35 and thusly actuates air cylinder 42and a valve (not shown) that interrupts the vacuum to vacuum cups 32.Actuation of air cylinder 42 causes trailing upper feed roll 34 tooscillate downwardly and firmly engage the leading end of food casing 25between it and lower roll 35 (FIG. 3b), thereby stripping the casingfrom the vacuum cups 32. Food casing 25 is thusly advanced over pleatingplaten 44 toward the pleating means 50 at Station II (FIG. 3c). As thefood casing 25 advances toward the pleating means 50, photoelectric eye31 senses the 1 advance of the leading end of food casing 25 andtransmits an electrical signal through a conventional time delay andelectropneumatic valve (not shown) that controls cylinder 42 'WhICh isthen reversed. Reverse action of the air cylinder 42 l causes leadingupper feed roll 36 to oscillate downwardly and l trailing upper feedroll 34 to oscillate upwardly through connecting bar 38 acting aboutpivot shaft 40. At the extremity of its downward movement, leading upperfeed roll 36 firmly engages the body of the food casing 25 between itand pleating platen 44 and thusly brakes the advance of the casing. Theleading end of food casing 25 is thusly positioned in the pleating means50 ready to be pleated (FIG. 3a).

STATION IIOPERATION Once the leading end of food casing 25 is positionedin the pleating means 50 between the lower forming assembly 52 and theupper pleating assembly 62, as is shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7a, thepleating operation is ready to begin.

The sequence followed in pleating one end of the food casing 25 isillustrated in FIGS. 7a7e. As shown in FIG. 7a, the leading end of thethusly positioned food casing 25 is over the lower forming members 56and rests on the upper surface of platen 44 which acts as a worksurface. Plate 54 is then raised by appropriate linkage (not shown)actuated by cams 228 mounted on main camshaft 226 (FIG. 16) therebyraising the food casing 25 from the surface of platen 44 and causing itto be supported solely by the lower forming members 56. The upperpleating assembly 62 is then lowered by appropriate linkage (not shown)actuated by cams 228. The upper pleating assembly 62 is lowered untilthe center pleating blade 76, firmly clamps the central portion of foodcasing 25 to the upper surface of platen 44 between adjacent lowerforming members 56 as shown in FIG. 7b. Upper pleating assembly 62 isthen lowered still further until the pairs of side pleating blades 77and 78 also clamp the food casing 25 to the upper surface of platen 44between respectively adjacent lower forming members 56 forming a wavepattern or loosely formed, undulating shape across the width of the foodcasing 25 (FIG. 7c). During this time, center pleating blade 76 isretained in its position by means of the coil spring 70 which iscompressed between center blade 76 and plate 64. The lower horizontaledges of the pairs of side pleating blades 77 and 78, as well as thelower horizontal edge of center pleating blade 76 are now all clampingthe food casing 25 to platen 44. Plate 54 is now retracted through thefurther actuation of cams 228 (FIG. 16), as described hereinbefore,thereby lowering the lower forming members 56 to a position at leastflush with the working surface of platen 44. The food casing 25 is nowclamped solely to the upper surface of platen 44 by the pleating blades,while the wave pattern is retained across the width of the food casingby the pleating blades (FIG. 70). Next, the pair of side pleating blades78 are actuated to move transversely across the width of the food casing25 through rods 74 each acting respectively on horizontal mounts 72 fromwhich side pleating blades 78 vertically depend, thereby condensing andcompressing the first formed wave pattern toward the central blade 76.Conventional pneumatic means (not shown) connected to rods 74 areenergized by limit switches in control box 224 for this function. Inthis manner, the first pleats on each lateral side of the casing betweeneach pair of side pleating blades 77 and 78 are formed as shown in FIG.7d. Next. the pair of side pleating blades 77 are similarly actuated asblades 78 continue to advance inwardly, traversing the width of foodcasing 25 to form subsequent pleats in the food casing 25 between eachof the side pleating blades 77 and center pleating blade 76. Hence,pleats are continuously and sequentially formed in the food casing 25inwardly toward its center beginning first with forming pleats at eachof the lateral side edges of the food casing before subsequent, interiorpleats are formed. Formation of the pleats in this manner isaccomplished without firmly clamping the pleats between adjacentpleating blades 50 that the pleating blades can be subsequently readilywithdrawn without disturbing the formed pleats (FlG. 7e).

The height of each pleat formed can be readily controlled by makingslight modifications and adjustments in the pleating blades and/or theforming members. For example, higher or lower pleats can be made asrequired or desired by altering the distance between the pleatingblades, or controlling the vertical upward movement of plate 54 which,in turn, determines the distance the lower forming members 56 willprotrude above the upper surface of plate member 58, or by altering theheight of the lower forming members 56, or by altering the height of thepleating blades, or by various combinations thereof which will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art.

The leading and trailing edges of the side pleating blades 77 and 78 areset progressively back from the leading and trailing edge of the centerpleating blade 76 (FIGS. 3d, 5 and 12) to facilitate the orderlygathering of the flat casing plies into pleated relation withouthumping, wrinkling or tearing the casing rearward of the trailing edgesof the pleating blades. Through the operation of the pleating means, thepleating blades are capable of pleating the food casing more uniformlythereby also minimizing possible injury to the food casing duringpleating.

Surprisingly it has been found that pleated food casings of the presentinvention exhibited a lower incidence of breakage than pleated foodcasings obtained from commercially available pleating apparatus. It isbelieved the lower incidence of breakage results from the uniquecharacteristics of the pleats. It was observed that the formed pleatshad alternate crests 29 and troughs 27 which differ from each other inthat the troughs 27 were rounded while the crests 29 were formed intosharp apexes (FlG. c). Pleats formed in food casings by commerciallyavailable pleating apparatus were observed to have definite sharp pointsat the apex of both the troughs and crests of the pleats which isbelieved to contribute to a higher incidence of breakage in such pleatedcasings. The pleating assembly used in the present invention, on theother hand, produces pleated food casings which exhibit a lowerincidence of breakage.

With the pleating assembly used in the present invention, predeterminedwave patterns can be formed in the food casing from which pleats ofcontrolled size can be obtained. Thusly, pleats of similar size orvarying size can be readily formed by simple adjustments andmanipulation of the pleating blades and corresponding adjustments andmanipulation of the other components of the pleating assembly.

STATION lllOPERATlON While the pleating operation is in progress, thehanger loop 24 is simultaneously being formed at the hanger loop formingmeans 80 (FIG. 1).

While the material selected to form the hanger loop is not critical, ithas been found that a highly oriented, thermoplastic, heat-meltabletape, such as that commercially employed to band cartons and boxes,provides a good hanger loop and this type of material is preferred.

The thermoplastic, heat-meltable material employed should be capable ofwithstanding temperatures of between 190 FJ -220 F., during curingcooking and processing while supporting the weight of the encased foodproduct. It should also be capable of having a bead" readily formedtherein. Formation of a bead in the hanger loop is desirable since thebead will be placed to coact with the wire clip section to form ananchoring means by which the stuffed food casing can be securelysuspended. Funher reference to the term bead throughout this applicationand in the claims, therefor, is intended to refer to and should beunderstood as referring to that portion of a hanger loop which has beenformed to coact with a wire clip section so as to provide an anchoringmeans for the hanger loop by which a stuffed food casing is suspended.

The hanger loop tape employed in a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is rectangular in cross section and is one which has beenoriented in one direction; that is, along its length, to assure that thedesired strength is obtained. Due to the orientation of the hanger looptape, a bead can be readily obtained in its severed ends by employing amelt cutoff knife as the severing means.

As described hereinabove, the melt cutoff knife 86 (FIGS. 9a to 9c) hasa V-shaped blade 83 which can be heated and, in use, severs the tape byadvancing it to and through the tape by melting it at its point ofcontact with the tape. By adjusting the penetration, temperatures andshape of the blade sides 83 of the cutoff knife, the size and shape ofthe beads 22a, 22b, formed in the thermoplastic hanger loop material 22can also be adjusted as desired.

It should be understood that, while one type of hanger loop tape hasbeen described for use in a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, other types of hanger loop materials can also be readilyemployed to function in the same manner. For example, hanger loopmaterials which are channeled or U- shaped in cross section, or whichhave raised portions or teeth along their length can also be used. Whenthe hanger loop material is channeled or U-shaped in cross section,attachment of the wire clip section so as to deform the tape willsuffice to form a bead and provide an anchoring means. Formation of abead in hanger loop materials having raised portions or teeth alongtheir length can be obtained by severing the material through its raisedportion and attaching the wire clip so that it coacts with the raisedportion of the tape providing an anchoring means by which the stuffedfood casing can be suspended.

Obviously, other materials such as preformed or pretied string loops,wire, metal tape, filaments and the like, having various cross-sectionalconfigurations can also have beads formed therein to provide ananchoring means and their use is not precluded herein.

Turning now to FIG. 9a, a length of hanger loop material 22 is suppliedthrough pinch rolls 82, passed over anvil 84 and extended beyond theprongs of forming clamp 88. Forming clamp 88 is shown in its starting oropen position in alignment with anvil 84 and mounting base 85. The pinchrolls 82, which automatically feed the material 22, are energizedintennittently through conventional connecting means to the drive meansof the apparatus synchronized by control box 224 so that only apredetermined length of material 22 is supplied. Usually, the length ofhanger loop material delivered to the forming clamp 88 is about 8 inchesin length.

Once the hanger loop material 22 is in position on the anvil 84 andextended horizontally into the space intermediate looping pin 92 andforming clamp 88, lever arm 90 that mounts clamp 88 is rotated aboutpivot shaft 91 by actuation of a rotary pneumatic cylinder and linkagemeans (not shown). As shown in phantom in FIG. 9a, V-shaped prongs 89,89a engage the leading end of hanger loop material 22 and bend it aboutlooping pin 92 forming a bight or loop in tape 22. Clamp 88 continues torotate about shaft 91 and prong 89 continues to bend the leading end ofthe material 22 about pin 92, and thereby reverses it onto the trailingend of hanger loop material 22 (FIG. 9b) until prong 89 clamps both theleading extension 84a.

When the hanger loop material 22 is thusly clamped across the anvil 84,severing means 86 is advanced downwardly by an air cylinder and linkage(not shown) to sever the hanger loop material 22 (FIG. 9c) resulting information of a hanger loop 24. Anvil 84 acts as a support for thematerial 22 between pinch rolls 82 and clamp prong 89. The anvil'scentral recessed portion permits the blade 83 of severing means 86 toadvance through the hanger loop material 22 until stopped by surface 85.

Since, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hangerloop material 22 is a thermoplastic, heat-meltuble material, thesevering means 86 is preferably a V-shaped melt cutoff knife. TheV-shaped blade 83 of the melt cutoff knife 86 is heated to a controlledpredetermined temperature by conventional electrical means (not shown).Knife 86 is positioned so that it severs only one ply of material 22. Inuse, the

blade 83 is first advanced to contact and sever the material by' meltingit. As knife 86 is further advanced, the severed ends are further meltedback by the sloping s ides of blade 83 to form beads 22a and 22b. Inthis manner, beads 22a and 2212 are formed in each of the severed endsof the hanger loop 24; that is, the trailing end of the formed hangerloop 24 has a bead 22b while the leading end of the hanger loop material22 also has a bead 22a (FIG. 90). Hence, as the leading end of thehanger loop material 22 is rotated to form the next successive hangerloop, one of its ends has already had a bead 22a formed in it. Once thehanger loop 24 has been formed, the beaded ends 22a, 22b, are pennittedto cool or, alternatively, can be cooled by directing a jet of air onthem.

Control box 224 now actuates the hanger loop transfer means 94 shown inFIGS. 10a, 10b, 10c and 11. A pneumatically actuated air cylinderreciprocates the transfer means 94 across the apparatus toward thehanger loop forming means 80. At the end of the traversing movement oftransfer means 94, gripping jaws 96 are pneumatically actuated to closeand grip the hanger loop 24 intermediate its beaded ends 22a, 22b andits closed loop end as shown in FIG. 9c. The melt cutoff knife 86 isthen retracted to its starting position and the fonning clamp 88 iscounterrotated and returned to its starting position, as shown in FIG.9a. The hanger loop 24 is then withdrawn from the hanger forming means80 which is then ready to form the next hanger loop.

The hanger loop 24 is transferred by the gripping jaws 26 on transfermeans 94 toward the pleated casing end 26. During this transfer,transfer means 94 is pneumatically actuated to first strip the hangerloop 24 from the looping pin 92 (FIG. 10b) and is then rotated through a90 arc (FIGS. 10b and 10c) coincidentally with the transfer of thehanger loop 24 to a position adjacent the pleated casing end 26. In thisposition, the closed end of the hanger loop 24 extends beyond theleading edge of the pleated casing end 26 (FIGS. 11, 12). Once thehanger loop 24 has been thusly positioned, the clamping jaws 102 of thetransfer carriage mechanism are activated to securely engage the pleatedcasing end 26 and the hanger loop 24 positioned adjacent thereto andmaintain them together in this position as illustrated in FIGS. 11, 12,and 13a. The gripping jaws 96 of the hanger loop transfer means 94 arethen disengaged from the hanger loop 24, as shown in phantom in FIG.14a. The hanger loop transfer means 94 is then reciprocated and rotatedback to its original position at Statiori Ill. At this time, the casing25 appears as illustrated in FIG. 12 with the pleated casing end 26 andhanger loop 24 firmly clamped together by the clamping jaws 102 and withthe pleating blades 76, 77 and 78 still retained in position in thefonned pleats. Now, the leading upper feed roll 36 (FIGS. 3b, 3c) isdisengaged from the trailing end of the casing 25 and the pleatingblades 76, 77 and 78 are withdrawn from the pleats so that the casing 25with the hanger loop 24 securely positioned to the pleated casing end26, can be traversed from Station II along the longitudinal axis of theapparatus and indexed at Station IV (FIG. 1). During this transfer, theupper end of the clamping jaws 102, protrude above the split connectingwork surface 48 so that the body of the casing 25 is supported by thesplit connecting work surface 48 during transit between Stations II andIV (FIG. I).

TRANSFER CARRIAGE MECHANISMOPERATION As pointed out hereinabove; themeans employed to transfer the pleated casing 25 by its pleated end 26and hanger loop 24 to Station IV is accomplished by the transfercarriage mechanism illustrated in FIGS. 13a13c, 14a, 14b and 16.

As can be seen in FIGS. 13a and 16, carriage member 100 is alternatelyindexed at Stations II and IV (FIG. 1) by being traversedover guide bars112 on guide rollers 110 by endless chain 114 and sprockets 116 and 118.Endless chain 114 is driven in one direction and controlled byelectrical clutchbrake 254 which is energized from the main drive motor200.

Sprockets I16 and 118 are positioned on the apparatus frame 28 so thatthe cam follower 120 automatically indexes the transfer carriage 100 atthe pleating means 50 of Station 11 and the clip closure means 150 ofStation IV. Each pair of sprockets 116 and 118 are respectivelyvertically spaced so that cam follower 120 on endless chain 114 can belinearly stopped at any point vertically intermediate either of thepairs of sprockets 116 or 118 without affecting proper indexing ofcarriage member 100 at either Station II of Station IV.

When carriage member 100 is indexed adjacent the pleating means 50 atStation II, male couplings 135 and 136 are mated together with thefemale couplings in manifolds 126 and 128,

respectively (FIG. 13a). Mating of the couplings opens the check valvesin both the male couplings 135, 136 and the female couplings 126, 128.

Prior to the mating of male couplings 135 and 136 with the femalecouplings in manifolds I26 and 128, respectively, and while carriagemember is in transit from Station IV to be indexed at Station II,clamping jaws 102 are in an open position as shown in phantom in FIG.140. Before this time, upper manifold 126 in dual air manifold block 124has been pressurized and lower manifold 128 exhausted by means of anelectrically actuated four-way valve (not shown) which caused aircylinder 108 to retract.

When the carriage member is indexed at Station II and the clampingjaws102 are to be closed, the four-way valve is actuated by a signal fromcontrol box 224 causing the airflow in dual air manifold block 124 to bereversed thereby advancing air cylinder 108 so that the clamping jaws102 close and firmly clamp the pleated casing end 26 and hanger loop 24therebetween (FIGS. 13a and 14a).

Carriage member 100 is now ready to be traversed toward and indexed atStation IV. At this time, male couplings and 136 are disjoined fromfemale couplings in manifolds 126 and 128 respectively, and the checkvalves in each coupling close to retain air in the cylinder 108 so thatthe pleated casing 26 and hanger loop 24 are secured in the clampingjaws 102. At this point, the apparatus appears as shown in FIG. 13b.

The pleated casing end 26 and hanger loop 24 are thusly positioned atthe clip closing means of Station IV (FIGS. 1 and 14b) ready for thenext operation.

STATION IVOPERATION The sequential operation of the clip closure means150 will be more clearly understood when considered together with FIGS.1 and 15a15f.

A length of clip wire is intermittently supplied by wire pinch rolls 168from supply reel 164 and guided through borehole 159 in the clip wireguide 158 to wire stop plate 157 in the same manner as describedhereinabove for advancement of the hanger loop material.

Once the predetermined length of clip wire 165, is in position in clipclosure means 150 (FIG. 15a), the movable clip die 154 is energized bypneumatic means (not shown) to slide and advance toward the thuslypositioned length of clip wire 165. The angled comer of movable clip die154 adjacent the wire clip guide 158 coacts with wire clip guide 158 tosever a length of clip wire 165 at this point to fonn wire clip section

1. A food casing having at one end thereof a hanger loop and an endclosure comprising a resilient wire clip, said end of said casing havinga plurality of pleats and said hanger loop having free ends positionedadjacent to said pleats by said wire clip, the free ends of said hangerloop having beads thereon, said clip having openable mating endspositioned adjacent the free ends of said loop, said beads and clipcooperating to maintain said loop in position at said end of saidcasing, said clip being momentarily openable by said beads upon theexertion of a snapping force to said loop to permit removal of said loopfrom said casing without opening said casing or removing said clip.
 2. Afood casing as defined by claim 1 in which both free ends of said loopare positioned on the same side of said casing.